Ch 185 – Faced with the Truth
The holographic projection flickered to life above the holo-table's surface, and within moments the translucent figures of the entire Ravenlight Party materialized in miniature form as they descended through a winding sand tunnel.
The memory showed them moving in their standard formation. Deacon took point at the front, his shield held ready in his left hand while his right clasped the hilt of Echoform Reliquary’s Ulfberht form. Jass followed at his side, her shortened glaive held loosely in both hands. Behind them, Sam and Esmerelda maintained their positions as the mages, with Bonehead in the center of the formation where he could provide support when needed.
"It's to your right, Deke," Sam's voice echoed from the projection with the slight reverb that all sound seemed to carry when replayed through the holo-table's speakers, his tone casual and confident in a way that made Deacon's chest tighten painfully as he watched his dead friend move through the memory.
Following the projected Sam’s directions, the holographic version of Deacon pressed his palm flat against the right wall of the tunnel, where the sandstone appeared no different from any other section of the passage.
As he channeled mana into the point of contact, a cylindrical metal object approximately the size of a person’s torso pushed out from within the sandstone wall where it had been concealed, emerging smoothly as though the rock itself were liquid rather than solid. Once the mechanism had fully extended and locked into its exposed position, Deacon’s hand retreated back to his side.
As the projection continued to play out the sequence of events exactly as they had occurred in that underground tunnel system, Sam moved from his position at the back of their formation to the front, where Deacon stood waiting beside the now-exposed metal cylinder.
Sam's hands went immediately to the side panel of the cylinder, unlatching it. He withdrew a mana battery from within the compartment that was sitting at barely ten percent capacity according to the faint glow still visible along its crystalline surface.
Lord Barrenthal’s face, which had remained locked in a state of stunned guilt ever since he first saw his son’s corpse preserved inside the translucent die, slowly settled back into its familiar stone-faced neutrality as he handed the die to his wife and gave the holo-table his full attention.
His eyes never left Sam’s projected form, watching with an intensity that it was as if trying to burn Sam’s final hours of life to memory.
Blue-white mana flowed from Sam’s hands into the depleted battery until it was full once more. The holographic Sam then slid it back into its compartment within the cylinder, latched the side panel, and stepped away to allow the mechanism to retract into the sandstone wall.
Lady Barrenthal maintained a carefully neutral expression, nearly identical to her husband’s, though the tightness in her features hinted at what lay beneath. Her hands were hidden beneath the holo-table, resting in her lap, and only her husband could see that they still shook.
The scene projected on the holo-table continued as normal, displaying everything that both Deacon and Bonehead could recall from their time spent in the underground desert with a clarity and detail that was almost painful to witness, given what Deacon knew was coming in the hours that followed these seemingly mundane moments.
All three parents remained stone-faced as they watched the Ravenlight Party eventually encounter their first group of antlions that burst up from beneath the sandstone floor in a spray of displaced sand and rock, the creatures' massive mandibles clicking together with an audible snap that echoed through the tunnel as they immediately locked onto the nearest targets and charged forward with the single-minded aggression that characterized their species.
The Party made quick work of the first wave of antlions, their efficiency speaking to years of training together as a cohesive unit.
Deacon took point, stepping directly into the path of the charging creatures. He met their initial assault head-on, using his shield to deflect blows while counterattacking with his sword to force openings the rest of the team could capitalize on.
Jass fought at his side in perfect sync, focused entirely on offense. She wielded her glaive as if it were an extension of her body, channeling earth magic through it to raise spikes of hardened sandstone from the floor and walls.
Behind them, Sam and Esmerelda held their positions as rear fighters, firing spells that took full advantage of their range and the protection Deacon provided at the front.
Bonehead hovered near the center of their formation, shifting constantly to support whichever section needed him most. His skeletal hands moved with practiced ease as he pulled potions and alchemical bombs from his Spatial Satchel.
As they pushed deeper into territory claimed by the antlions while searching for the metal cylinders that powered the barrier, the fighting grew heavier. During these engagements, tunnels would sometimes burst open in the walls beside Sam or Esmerelda, and antlions would attack them from the most vulnerable point in their formation.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a dead-end situation for most parties fighting in enclosed spaces without a defender covering the rear.
That was not the case for the Ravenlight Party, thanks to the meticulous training exercises Deacon had put them through during their time in the Academy’s training rooms, which were capable of simulating a wide variety of environments and scenarios.
If Sam or Esmerelda were close enough, they sealed the new openings with Earth Wall before any antlions could pour through. If not, Bonehead stepped in, hurling one of his expanding clay flasks. The flask would strike the tunnel mouth and rapidly harden, forming a makeshift barrier that cut off the creatures’ access.
In situations where sealing the tunnel wasn't immediately possible due to distance or positioning, whichever member of the Party was closest would use their respective magic to either neutralize the threat or buy time for someone else to handle it properly.
Deacon would often unleash blasts of Ignis directly into the newly formed tunnel openings before Sam or Esmerelda could seal them shut, the flames scorching everything inside before the passage was closed off by one of the two mages. Jass, meanwhile, would simply seal the tunnel herself and reinforce the surrounding walls, preventing any further digging attempts within a fifty-meter radius of the Party.
From what the three parents were witnessing through the projected memories, the Ravenlight Party operated as a whole like a solid and well-coordinated unit that had clearly spent significant time training together and developing the kind of communication and tactical awareness that only came from extensive practical experience working as a team.
Something they all knew the importance of, given their own experience climbing the Tower.
They covered short, middle, and long-range combat scenarios with an impressive degree of flexibility and adaptability, each member understanding their role within the formation and how to support their teammates while simultaneously exploiting openings in the enemy's defenses to maximize their offensive output and minimize the risks of anyone getting isolated or overwhelmed by superior numbers.
The only significant detractors from an otherwise remarkably balanced Party composition were the notable lack of a dedicated healer among their ranks, along with the absence of someone who focused exclusively on defensive responsibilities rather than trying to split their attention between offense and defense the way Deacon currently did.
While Deacon certainly had the raw stats and skill to act as a proper defender for the Party, given his above-average physical attributes, having someone dedicated solely to defense and formation integrity would have been far more advantageous. It would have allowed Deacon to focus entirely on offense, rather than keeping one arm effectively out of commission with a shield occupying his left hand and limiting his ability to fully commit to aggressive maneuvers.
In much the same way, Bonehead’s extensive collection of potions and ingenious alchemical concoctions served as a passable stand-in for proper healing support and had saved their lives more than once during especially brutal encounters. Still, he was effectively a poor man’s healer when what they truly needed was someone like Cabel, a dedicated healer capable of providing steady healing over extended engagements and dealing with catastrophic injuries that potions alone could not properly address.
Having access to real healing magic would have been a complete game-changer for the Party’s long-term sustainability, allowing them to endure multiple consecutive fights without being forced to retreat and recover after each one.
Watching the projected memories unfold, this became increasingly and painfully obvious to Deacon as he mentally cataloged every moment where Cabel’s presence could have altered their tactical options and improved their chances of survival.
He should have pushed harder to get Cabel to join them when the Party was first coming together, or at the very least, gone out and actively recruited from the pool of available healers in their year at the Academy.
Their growing popularity from earlier successful quests would have put them in a far more favorable light, making it easier to attract talented individuals who might otherwise have hesitated to commit to a Party that had not yet proven itself capable of handling the more dangerous quest zones with the best rewards and experience gains.
Eventually, the projected scene above the holo-table reached a massive, empty sandstone archway set within a vast cavern, down into which the Ravenlight Party slowly descended. It was there that Deacon noticed the first flicker of suspicion in the parents’ eyes.
As his holographic self stepped away to relieve himself, the perspective shifted to Bonehead’s point of view. In that moment, the archway came violently to life. A surge of magical energy rippled through the cavern, making the air shimmer and distort as a portal tore itself into existence within the archway’s frame, the result of Esmerelda’s “magic.”
From her position across the holo-table, Lady Barrenthal spoke up for the first time since the projection had begun playing, her voice cutting through the ambient sound of the memory with a sharp edge.
Her icy analytical stare fixed itself directly on Deacon's face with an intensity that made him feel as though she was attempting to peer directly into his thoughts and determine whether he was being truthful or attempting to conceal something, while the other two parents on her side of the table shifted their focus away from the projection just long enough to also lock their gazes onto him and wait for his response. "What happened to the girl here? And where is she?"
“We don’t know,” Deacon answered honestly as the projection continued to play out the events following the portal’s activation, showing the Party’s cautious approach to the shimmering gateway and their eventual decision to pass through it. They had determined there were no other viable options for continuing their quest, as every other tunnel they had explored either dead-ended or looped back on itself.
"Esmerelda herself didn't really know what happened when the portal activated, only that she felt something pull at her mana reserves, and then she was nearly unconscious from the sudden depletion," he continued.
The projection showed them stepping through the portal one by one and emerging into Solomon's Fourth Temple on the other side, the Party immediately beginning to search their new surroundings with the same methodical approach they'd used throughout the tunnel system as they tried to determine what kind of quest zone they'd stumbled into and what challenges they would likely face.
Deacon watched his projected self moving through the temple's entrance chamber while simultaneously answering Lady Barrenthal's second question, his right fist clenched tightly under the table where it rested beside the Soul Bottle that currently held Esmerelda's.
"She also didn't make it out of the temple alive, and her mother hasn't picked up her phone or responded to any of the messages I've sent trying to arrange a meeting to return her daughter's soul and explain what happened."
Satisfied with his answers for the moment, all three parents turned their attention back to the holo-table as the projection continued.
The memory now showed Deacon discovering the ladder that led down into an underground hallway, followed by his explanation to the Party that the space below was actively venting what he had initially called Frostfire, named for the contradictory sensation of burning cold he had felt upon exposure.
Lord Barrenthal’s focus immediately locked onto the visible ice crystals clinging to the flesh of Deacon’s right tricep, a direct result of that brief exposure to whatever magical phenomenon was emanating from the hallway.
Deacon noticed the exact moment when Lord Barrenthal reached the same conclusion Sam had in the memory. His jaw tightened just as the projected Sam spoke aloud what his father had already realized, only seconds after Deacon finished describing the experience to the Party.
With that brief interruption addressed, no other major reactions or questions came from the parents as they sat watching the projected memories continue to play out without any further interruptions, showing the Party's progression through Solomon's Fourth Temple and all the challenges they encountered along the way. Along with their surprise of gaining Racial Levels when passing into the next room, and the high-level Chimeric Locusts that were hidden behind trapped walls.
The projection showed that the moment the barrier around the portal shattered, the antlions that had been pursuing them through the tunnel system finally breached the protective ward and spilled into the temple.
Forced to act quickly, the Party rushed to complete the pressure-plate puzzle that would grant access to the next section, all while fighting off the advancing horde that threatened to overwhelm them through sheer numbers.
The memory showed them leaping onto the activated pressure plate puzzle and dropping into the winding slide that carried them down into the chamber below. It was there they would eventually be forced to solve the riddles inscribed on the altars that rose from the platform, expanding it as each solution was completed.
However, after they solved the second riddle, a swarm of antlions spilled from the ceiling and onto the platform, surrounding them in a sea of darkness.
After what felt like an eternity of nonstop combat, they finally sealed the tunnel serving as the creatures’ primary entry point. From there, they eliminated the remaining antlions already inside the chamber, leaving the Party exhausted but alive.
If only that was the end…
Deacon’s gaze sharpened as the projection continued.
He tracked his past self as the holographic version of him moved farther away from where Esmerelda and Bonehead rested near the collapsed tunnel. Drawn by the chance to harvest valuable materials from the scattered antlion corpses before they degraded, the decision had seemed reasonable at the time. Antlion carapace and mandibles were rare and highly valuable.
Watching it now, with the benefit of hindsight and knowing what was coming, made Deacon want to reach into the projection and throttle his past self – wishing as though he’d just kept in formation around the glass case instead of harvesting the antlions.
"What?" Ian Pines muttered as the holographic projection suddenly shifted focus to show a massive antlion unlike any of the others they'd encountered previously emerging from a newly formed tunnel, its carapace gleaming with a royal blue sheen. "A General Rank mutant? Do you take me for a fool?"
The scoff that followed his rhetorical question carried a heavy dose of disbelief and barely restrained anger, as though Ian Pines was convinced that this entire presentation was nothing more than an elaborate farce designed to conceal the true nature of his daughter's death by claiming they'd encountered something so impossibly rare and dangerous that no reasonable person would expect a group of Tier 1 Climbers to survive the encounter.
Ian Pines’s scoffs and open disbelief died instantly when Deacon reached into his Spatial Sling Bag without breaking eye contact and produced the mutilated corpse of the Antlion Prince. He set the massive remains onto the holo-table with a heavy thud that made the surface tremble under the weight of undeniable physical evidence.
The corpse was exactly as the projection had shown. Its carapace still bore that unnatural metallic sheen, its mandibles grotesquely oversized, easily capable of bisecting a grown man in a single bite. The damage carved into its exoskeleton told a clear story of a brutal fight, one that had pushed the Party far beyond its limits.
Deacon wasn't entirely sure how the Antlion Prince's corpse had ended up in his Spatial Storage, which meant that in all likelihood the Djinn had taken it upon herself to place it there for reasons that remained unclear.
Still, regardless of how it had gotten there, Deacon was grateful for its presence now since it provided undeniable proof that they were telling the truth about what they'd encountered in Solomon's Fourth Temple.
Faced with undeniable proof, Ian Pines fell silent.
His attention returned to the projection, his earlier skepticism giving way to horror as the memory continued. The Ravenlight Party fought not only the Antlion Prince, but also the Sand Golems that joined the battle.
As the memory progressed past the moment where Deacon had been embedded into the ceiling, it reached the point where Bonehead produced a barrel of water, and Sam hurled it at the merged Elite Sand Golem.
After the barrel exploded over it, a large fragment of the shattered barrel tore loose and embedded itself into Jass’s side, giving the Antlion Prince the opportunity to land a devastating blow onto Jass.
Ian Pines launched himself from his chair. The legs scraped loudly against the floor as he lunged for Bonehead, one arm reaching for the floating skull across the holo-table while the other moved toward the glaive on his back.
“You bastard!”
Anticipating the outburst after sensing the man’s rising tension throughout the viewing and knowing what scene was about to be shown, Deacon threw himself in front of his friend.